STEM square one

Published: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 08:00 AM.

Gulf Coast State College and area elected officials aren’t going to take Gov. Rick Scott’s “no” as a final answer. Nor should they.

The governor on Monday vetoed the Legislature’s $14 million appropriation for a new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) building at GCSC, which was part of $368 million in line-item vetoes Scott made. His decision would seem to contradict his oft-stated goal of improving STEM education in Florida.

However, his veto likely had more to do with process than value.

The STEM facility landed on Florida TaxWatch’s annual list of budget “turkeys” because it was a low priority of the Department of Education’s Division of Colleges, and the money wasn’t initially listed in the House budget (and constituted only $300,000 in the Senate budget). Instead, Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, inserted the $14 million for the project during a conference committee late in the session.

That kind of move is not uncommon, but TaxWatch believes it deprives expenditures of appropriate scrutiny to ensure taxpayers are getting their money’s worth. Gov. Scott apparently agreed. WJHG-TV reported Monday that Scott said that although he believes in STEM education, such projects have “got to go through a logical process of you know, of going through the Board of Governors or going through the Board of Education.”

That’s a reasonable request, and it’s one local officials are taking to heart.

Indeed, they reacted not with outrage at the governor’s veto, but mild disappointment and resignation — as well as resolve to come back next year with a better game plan to secure funding for the facility.

Gulf Coast State College and area elected officials aren’t going to take Gov. Rick Scott’s “no” as a final answer. Nor should they.

The governor on Monday vetoed the Legislature’s $14 million appropriation for a new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) building at GCSC, which was part of $368 million in line-item vetoes Scott made. His decision would seem to contradict his oft-stated goal of improving STEM education in Florida.

However, his veto likely had more to do with process than value.

The STEM facility landed on Florida TaxWatch’s annual list of budget “turkeys” because it was a low priority of the Department of Education’s Division of Colleges, and the money wasn’t initially listed in the House budget (and constituted only $300,000 in the Senate budget). Instead, Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, inserted the $14 million for the project during a conference committee late in the session.

That kind of move is not uncommon, but TaxWatch believes it deprives expenditures of appropriate scrutiny to ensure taxpayers are getting their money’s worth. Gov. Scott apparently agreed. WJHG-TV reported Monday that Scott said that although he believes in STEM education, such projects have “got to go through a logical process of you know, of going through the Board of Governors or going through the Board of Education.”

That’s a reasonable request, and it’s one local officials are taking to heart.

Indeed, they reacted not with outrage at the governor’s veto, but mild disappointment and resignation — as well as resolve to come back next year with a better game plan to secure funding for the facility.

Gaetz, who last week blasted TaxWatch’s “turkey” list with an epic rant about it being an “unconstitutional perversion” reflecting an “arrogance of the elite,” was much more subdued about Scott red-lining the STEM building.

GCSC President Jim Kerley said the veto wasn’t surprising, and vowed to “redouble our efforts to get this funding next year.” That included having the governor tour the campus and the current outdated STEM facility. He said he was “very optimistic” the money would come through in 2014.

Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, indicated that Gaetz’s late push for funding failed to include him and Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna, who represents part of Bay County.

Scott’s veto pushes the STEM project back a year, but it also gives the Bay County legislative delegation time to prepare. They need to be on the same page educating the governor to the college’s needs and the benefits of the proposed facility. Or as Patronis told The News Herald’s Matthew Beaton, “Each one of those budget items needs a story, and it needs a storyteller.”